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Thursday, July 31, 2014

So How About Paris in August?

This post is part of
the Paris in July blogging event. I’m delighted to be co-hosting this year!
Please check out the blogs of Karen at “A Wondering Life” and Tamara at “Thyme for Tea,”creators of the event, for links to all participating posts.

The last day of
July and the scent of vacation is in the air for many Parisians. With a minimum
of 25 vacation days a year, Parisians traditionally take at least two weeks off
in the summer – and the most popular time is August.

The shops and
restaurants surrounding tourist attractions are usually open in August but if
you go into a neighborhood just off the tourism route, you will get a feel for
the real Paris in August: quiet, calm, sleepy.

In our
neighborhood, our usual bakeries, cheese shops, and other artisans close during
the same period, leaving us with the grocery store and one bakery. There is always
one baker among the five or six in each neighborhood who will remain open so we
don’t have to resort to industrial bread. (Whew!)

If I want to have
lunch or dinner at a small café or restaurant, I think to myself: “It’s that
time of year… I’d better call to make sure it’s open.” And it usually isn’t.

All of this until
the August 15 Assumption holiday. Then, slowly but surely, shutters lift,
hurried footsteps echo in the streets, the sounds of laughter and the scent of
cigarettes permeate the air. And Paris awakens.

I hope you have
enjoyed this year’s Paris in July. I certainly have! A big “merci!” to Tamara
and Karen for asking me to co-host this year.

July is one of my
favorite months in Paris, but if you love Paris as much as I do, don’t hesitate
to visit during any month. Paris is a place for all seasons.

A bientot…

Another View:

Fellow Paris-based author Vicki
Lesage is teaming up with me on a few “Paris in July” posts. We each will be
writing our own take on a particular Paris-related theme. Here is Vicki’s wrap-up post for the last day
in July…

Parisin August is a unique phenomenon. It's
both empty and crowded. Loud and quiet. Parisian and not Parisian. It passes
slowly but is over with before you know it, and then it's back to the hustle
and bustle of work. You have to enjoy it while it lasts... Click here to read more…

Adria, I loved your posts for Paris in July. I've only been in France during August once, and I was at a vacation house until September. Then we returned to the outskirts of Paris when the rest of the city did. Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. Here’s my Dreaming of France meme